The glitch is only possible with one mask; attempting it with two already will do nothing as Crash will have invincibility, doing it with none will still give Crash a mask in his death animation state, although it won't carry over to his next life.

This is possible in levels such as Diggin' It in Crash Bandicoot 2 and Sphynxinator during Time Trial mode in Crash Bandicoot 3, where an Aku Aku crate is in close proximity to an explosive crate.